AuthorTopic: Temporary Receptor Alternative (Read 17388 times)

Tom Roady

My permanent Receptor Alternative is my 3 year old Powerbook G4 1.33ghz with 1.25 gig of ram running various EZDrummer packs through Garageband as a plug in....it sounds amazing for my ears...and I've been playing the Zendrum since 94 ..I'm the only guy on here that has a CD that I did entirely with a Zendrum with the exception of a few friends as soloist....hear me...If you have a Mac , even an older one....spend the $250 or whatever for EZDrummer... Derico Watson who plays with Futuremans brother Victor has done the Claustrophobic Kit for EZDrummer....he's friggin amazing and so is his kit and midi loops....Harry Stinson a dear friend of mine did the Nashville pack with one of the best engineers in this town I know Chuck Ainley in one of the best studios in Nashville...it's sounds awesome... Michael Blair who plays for Tom Waits ,Elvis Costello and Lou Reed did the amazing Twisted Kit...chinese drums, wild stuff ..NOT just amazing sounding natural kits..creative sounds to expand your playing...and Futureman uses elements from several EZDrummer with the Flecks...GREAT sounding Cymbals and drums...plus I have immediate access to 20 gig of world and synths and voices from Garageband I've been doing melodic stuff with Zendrums since I got it ..so for me it's never JUST been about playing drums with it...its so much more than JUST that....open your minds...express yourself melodically as well as rhythmically and don't just go out and drop 3 grand without at least checking out the alternatives like EZDrummer and Addictive Drums..they work with PCs too....the drum libraries available these days have come a long way since Alesis D4s and DM5s...which is what we all used 13 years ago... I know...I was there right beside Kim and Inspector 109 "the mayor"

..I'm the only guy on here that has a CD that I did entirely with a Zendrum with the exception of a few friends as soloist....

No disrespect to The-Mayor, but my "Spirit of the Drum" CD was done entirely with the Zendrum with a couple of friends playing solos, including a guitar player that worked with Ray Charles for about 13 years. There have been many others who have released CDs, I'm sure.

I consider Tom a good friend and he is a big fan of his Mac Powerbook, and I'm happy for him. The bottom line is that he is using VST instruments!

There are a many ways to play VST instruments (drums and others) live. There are big differences between using a laptop (new or old) and a BFD Turbo Receptor. Reliability and processing power and upgrade options are a few. There are huge differences in the depth of VST drum software companies. Look at the cost of a competent computer, high quality audio / MIDI interface (don't forget about latency issues), hard drives and the cost of the software. Compare that to the cost and performance of a Receptor and you will see that there is not that much of a difference in price.

The final choice is up to the end user. You should also look at future upgrade options. Do your own research. It's your money. You need to be happy.

duojet

..I'm the only guy on here that has a CD that I did entirely with a Zendrum with the exception of a few friends as soloist....

No disrespect to The-Mayor, but my "Spirit of the Drum" CD was done entirely with the Zendrum with a couple of friends playing solos, including a guitar player that worked with Ray Charles for about 13 years. There have been many others who have released CDs, I'm sure.

I consider Tom a good friend and he is a big fan of his Mac Powerbook, and I'm happy for him. The bottom line is that he is using VST instruments!

There are a many ways to play VST instruments (drums and others) live. There are big differences between using a laptop (new or old) and a BFD Turbo Receptor. Reliability and processing power and upgrade options are a few. There are huge differences in the depth of VST drum software companies. Look at the cost of a competent computer, high quality audio / MIDI interface (don't forget about latency issues), hard drives and the cost of the software. Compare that to the cost and performance of a Receptor and you will see that there is not that much of a difference in price.

The final choice is up to the end user. You should also look at future upgrade options. Do your own research. It's your money. You need to be happy.

Does the receptor allow using off the shelf PC components for upgrades (ram, hard drives, CPU, etc)?

Ladies and Gentlemen, Tom Roady is one of the hippest people you will ever meet. He has a great heart and I hope that everyone has a chance to meet him one day. The world needs more people like "The-Mayor".

Does the receptor allow using off the shelf PC components for upgrades (ram, hard drives, CPU, etc)?

Yes you can change them out your self, but I do not recommend it. I recommend letting the factory do it. The price is not bad and those upgrades are also covered by the company. If something goes wrong, they will fix it. If you have a problem with something that you put in it, then you might be on your own.

John

« Last Edit: August 24, 2007, 04:29:17 PM by john emrich »

Logged

John EmrichDrums, Percussion, Producer, Sound designer

Tom Roady

Thank you so much "Mr. Wizard"....very nice words ..I appreciate them very much....I look forward to hanging in Akron with you and Mario and Mike and also meeting fellow Zendrummers....we are a tribe for sure....and it's wonderful to play such a a "weird" instrument...not my word exactly...but we've all heard it before...no matter what our sound source of choice is!!! .take care John and stay cool..it was a 105 here today in Nashville.."the mayor"

NONE of us has the right to criticize or judge how the others are using this instrument! I am pretty bummed about some of the stuff I have just read...it breaks my heart to see OUR tribe arguing over how to use the very thing that ties us all together! Geo, I found it interesting that you used Imagine as your example. The lyrics of that song are all about acceptance and harmony...let's take its advice and use it to build each other up on this forum. I am so proud to be a part of this community which actually IS a community, a rarity in online forums lately. Let us not degenerate into the "flames" found so commonly elsewhere.

It has been said before (and better), but I LOVE it when I hear someone doing something that I would have never thought of...it broadens my horizons and makes me remember just how much variety there is in the world of Zendrum. True, some sounds impress me and some sounds depress me (mostly mine), but the difference is the key. Embrace the variety, guys! If we all use it the same way, what's the point?

NONE of us has the right to criticize or judge how the others are using this instrument! I am pretty bummed about some of the stuff I have just read...it breaks my heart to see OUR tribe arguing over how to use the very thing that ties us all together! Geo, I found it interesting that you used Imagine as your example.

I don't know WHAT you guys are reading into...

I said I was baffled why people wanted to do this and didn't understand why peopel buy one instrument to sound like another.

That's exactly what I mean.

I am baffled and want to know.

At no time did I ever judge, say anything or anyone was wrong. All I'm trying to do is understand peoples thinking.

If anyone thought at anytime I was being judgemental, I'm sorry.

Logged

Play nice.

bjames

Well my first extended Zendrum gig is in the books. However, I did not use Addictive Drums as I had originally planned. After reading Tom Roady's comments about EZ Drummer, the Nashville EZX in particular, I decided late last night to install it on my laptop so that I could have both Addictive Drums and EZDrummer on the laptop for the gig. Then I could make a quick determination during sound check as to which one to use. The funny thing is that when I listened to some of the grooves (using the Nashville kit) through the headphones last night, I wasn't sure how it would translate through the PA system. My first impressions were that I didn't think it would measure up to what I heard from AD. Although, I could see how it might be desirable in a recording application. Boy was I in for a surprise. That Nashville kit absolutely rocked through the PA system. I was especially blown away by the kick and snare. The closed hi-hat was my least favorite sample, but perhaps I need to use a different sample variant. The toms were also very good, but I need to work to get more velocity consistency during tom runs/fills.

My church band director happened to be in the audience and was (in his words) 'blown away' by the drum sound. This guy is a fairly accomplished musician in his own right so to hear that from him confirms that I just may be on to something here. Special thanks to Mr. Roady for unknowingly planting that seed for me.

I also think John Emrich's statement where he said '...bottom line is that he is using VST instruments!'' is very poignant here as well. For me, I'm thrilled to finally be participating in the VST-drumming arena. I already had the laptop and the audio/midi interface. So, spending a few hundred bucks on EZD and AD has allowed me to experience the potential that VST-drumming holds. As a result, I am extremely excited! As I said before, I do believe a Receptor is in my future but for now I think I have something I feel puts me closer to getting the quality sounds I'm after.

I generally lurk here more than I post, so I'm going to take the opportunity now to say...kudo's to those who actively give of there time and knowledge in this forum . Now, off to install the Latin Percussion EZX

I'll go ahead and weigh in on this one. I like my DMPro. It's like a comfortable old shoe. I've added some extra sounds with a card and I generally play with effects because I like electronic weirdness. It's a budget system compared to the best stuff out there, its pretty tweakable, and it has a lot of sounds. If it broke, I'd get it fixed or get another one.-Brian

Logged

Michael Render

I understand Geosphere's position. I would love to be a pioneer in new and innovative percussion sounds. I find it too easy to slip back into conventional sounds, however. Hey! - I'm lazy. But who can forget how bands like Kraftwerk changed the expectations of what percussion should sound like. I do slip in things like bleeps and explosions, which can be very expressive, but I do yearn for a more original voice. For me anyway.

Logged

jeff sanders

the new ilife '08 featuring the new garageband 4 now has all new 24 bit effects. apart from having a few problems in the conversion to the new format from the songs i made in garageband 3 16 bit originally, i worked it out perfect. the new program really has much improved fidelity. i remastered a few of my gb3 songs with gb4 effects and it polished them up very well. the instruments, the drums in particular(same insturments but using new effects), have never sounded so good. before the upgrade when mastering drums id find my self settling on the effect that was closest to what i was looking for. now i find im having to pick from 2-3 effect choices that all sound great in eaches own way. the ilfe cost $79.00 worth every penny in my mind.

its great that everyone has a strong opinion of what a zendrum should be or do. it shows the tribe has passion for their instruments. remember that drummers' marches all differ and preferably so, that insures musical variety. keep jammin all

Logged

Tom Roady

Jeff I'm so glad to hear that you have upgraded to iLife08...I know that Garageband has had some amazing features added to it...I'm holding off to upgrade till after Futuredrum..But I know it has new arranging features, new multi take capabilities, Visual EQ graphics,Automation and something I am really interested in hearing...human beatbox samples for making interesting kits...this really ties in with what the forum here has been discussing...breaking away from just stock great acoustic drums to different (think out of the box) kits..and these are part of the new Vocals Jam Pack...gotta get it too...but I need to make room on my Powerbook for all these things....right now it's loaded down with EZDrummer and 20 gig of Garageband loops and samples......I have enough to work with at the moment.....I just picked up an Alesis Control Pad...waiting for the mount to get it on a stand...it's not a Zendrum...but it is USB direct and I think will be a pretty cool thing to have...also today I scored on Craig's list...I picked up a PERFECT second Roland KC-500 Keyboard amp.for $325.00....Now I'm stereo!!!!!! Yea!!! "the mayor"